He has thought that these are important grievances, and that a little labour would go far to remove them. He is satisfied, from the investigation that is shortly to be detailed, that Atmospheric Contagion has no existence; that consequently all the apprehension felt upon the subject is groundless, and that the many painful measures which the public adopt, for their security, are totally unnecessary.
On a subject, too, touching such important considerations as the dreadful panic often experienced when pestilence is ravaging; the safety and ease of mind of the public; the discharge of the most sacred offices of kindness and consolation to their sick and dying fellow-men; and the progress of medical science, he has felt that the public must take a deep interest, and that he is warranted in treating it in a style fitted for popular perusal.
It must be granted that the British nation, whose sympathy is not confined among themselves, but exists for the various tribes of the human race, civilized and savage, must willingly lend an ear to an argument, whose object is, to shew that their own safety from pestilence, does not require them to be placed in the painful and cruel position, of withholding their aid from a suffering and helpless fellow-creature; of disregarding the cries and the imploring and eloquent looks of the dying; of forsaking the sick-bed of a father or a brother, denying the tender and unpurchaseable offices of friendship, and of ruthlessly breaking asunder the sacred bonds with which God has wisely and indulgently joined us.
They, whose hearts are open to the appeal of the forlorn slave, must be gratified to hear that they may perform the offices of humanity to their sick relatives and friends, without, as has hitherto been thought, subjecting themselves to the almost certain invasion of disease; that they may watch the last moments of an expiring friend, minister to his latest wants, and have the melancholy gratification of standing by him, when about to make the last and most awful change that can overtake him.
It is expected that it will be shewn, that the sick-room is at all times free of the poison with which it has been believed to be contaminated, and that the atmosphere there, if attention is paid to ventilation, &c. is almost as wholesome as that out of doors.
The air which the sick respire does become impure, but not on ordinary occasions in a manner different, or with a greater virulence, than is observed in the case of air in a small and close apartment, respired by many persons closely huddled together.
The history of sick chambers presents no instance more dreadful than that of the Black Hole of Calcutta, where so many perished of corrupted or vitiated air.
The subject of infectious air touches directly upon the most important interests of mankind, concerns intimately their safety, the duties of man to man, and even the very affections of the heart.
As the subject at present stands, the public is awkwardly situated; believing that they must either endanger their health, even their lives, or allow their friends and relatives to perish unassisted.
The author thinks he is under no obligation to apologize for attempting to shew, that the public may at once perform all the charities of life to the sick, and avoid the action of a virulent poison. There can be none necessary, and he even hopes that his inquiry may tend to obtain for many, who are yet to be the victims of pestilence, that succour from hands they love, which, alas! has been withheld from thousands.